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SPEECH OF THE KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’OUD MUNIR A. AZIM AT AN INTERFAITH CONFERENCE IN THE EAST OF MAURITIUS (@ LALLMATIE)
(A summary of the speech)
After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Messiah of this era read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then he addressed the audience as thus, starting with giving an explanation on the attestation of faith in Islam. He then precised that all religions of the world at its origin preached the unity of God. Prophets Krishna, Ram, Moses, Jesus, Noah, Abraham among others preached one same message to their respective people. Thereafter he said that the coming of Muhammad (peace be upon them all) had a universal aspect, him being sent not just to one specific people but as a blessing for all the worlds, for all humanity.
He declared: “To be Islam, a Muslim must at all cost have firm belief in all past prophets in addition to believing in the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and also in every Messenger or reformer who are to come to revive the teachings of God, to bring back the glory and honour of religion back to its victorious stance.”
The honourable Messenger of Allah also touched such subjects which are greatly ignored and trampled today, such moral values which have vanished, the young children or youths having not a deep respect for the adults and vice-versa. Thus, a great job lies ahead, to make these children, youths and even elders to earn respect by their own moral conduct like there was in the past. Morality has lost its gloss and decadence is seen everywhere where children are no longer attached to God or not following truly the right path. Nowadays, it is rare to find a sincere person who is attached to God, his mind not deviating from the essence of worship to the Creator. Satan is the enemy of God and man alike. When one gives preference to other things other than Almighty God, then it is Satan who is obstructing one’s way to God, to remembering Him. Love for God must pervade the hearts of each one of you and every single human. When sincere love manifests in the heart, then this love would inevitably manifest, being rendered clear in one’s deed and thoughts.
Life is very short, indeed temporary. Time gone by would never return. Man can know when he shall get engaged, married, or celebrates his birthday. But one sure thing he is not aware of is his death hour, date and year. Thus, one should reflect upon the power of God, for only He alone has the knowledge when His servants shall taste death. Death indeed does not look at faces and age. The path of death is for all people. Nobody will be able to escape death. Therefore, each one of us, each of the servants of God must already prepare himself for his meeting with God upon death. Like one likes to prepare himself or herself to go to wedding ceremonies or parties among friends and family, but the meeting with Almighty God is way past the most important of meetings and one that the servant of God must at all cost prepare himself for, dressing himself in the clothes of piety and fear of God. Whatever one plants in this world, be it good or bad deed, he will inevitably harvest it in the next world. All religions of the world taught this and God indeed gives us time to reflect upon our actions, to repent and ameliorate both our physical and spiritual condition.
Moreover, the humble messenger of God talked about the Messiah, Jesus and his pure mother, Virgin Mary, honouring their status like the Holy Quran described, and consolidates the fact that he was only a human being and a Messenger of God, devoid of any father-son relationship between him and Almighty God. Virgin Mary, he said, was a very pious lady. Christian women had a very good example in her, but alas they ignored to follow her righteous example. But, it is never too late. To avert the moral calamities sizzling the lives of human nowadays, it is imperative that one adopts the righteous path so that he may taste the sweetness of faith and deep attachment to morality and divine commandments.
Humans are really fortunate and this fortune has been bestowed upon us by Almighty God who sent us to earth and provided us with our every need and provided us the means to fulfil them. The Khalifatullah then gave as examples the fact that God has provided a baby as soon as he is born in this world, parents who nurture him, giving him proper care, love and education so as he may get to live a decent life through marriage and in turn getting them also children to carry on the family name and ultimately the existence of the human race. Thus, man gets to witness many roles on earth, that of being a baby, a young child, an adolescent, a mature boy, and when he marries, he gets to look after a wife and children, and in the last part of his life, become grandparents – thus, witnessing several steps of this life, going through it only through the grace of his Creator and Well-wisher.
The first education a child receives is at home with his own parents. If a household has problems, then how will a child be able to grow into a good and healthy adult? Home environment plays a major role in the life of a toddler. He gets to familiarize with it. Thus, if he lives in a spiritually dirty environment, with a lack of morals and proper upbringing, he is most likely to associate his environment and way of being as being natural to him and thus normal if he carries on with his improper behaviour. Education thus starts neither at school, nor at the Shivala, nor at the Church nor Mosque etc. A school cannot change the behaviour of a child 100%. The child needs a proper home environment to develop into a good and righteous human being, with the necessary codes of conducts and level of morality needed for him to spend on earth. Nowadays, many children, due to a lack of supervision and proper care and upbringing have stumbled into such vices as alcoholic drinks, cigarettes smoking, drugs, gambling etc. Moreover, they do not have any respect or obeisance for those elder than them or even their parents. Very often today, children now turned adults who have had a bad upbringing do not know the value of their own parents. They readily find them a burden on their shoulders, forgetting the times that these same parents used to care for them and give them their necessities when they were small and defenceless. Now what do they do with their parents? They thrust them in the care of homes, sometimes paid ones, and very often unpaid ones who rely on donations to run and care for their patients.
After stressing upon these facts of life, the Khalifatullah then said that it is the duty of every spiritual chief of every religion that they all should reunite on one same level to discuss the problems faced by humans nowadays, irrespective of their religions, and to find solutions to alleviate the sins of man which know a climb upwards. Each one of us should forget our difference of opinions and concentrate into guiding our fellow human brothers, sisters and children back to a sane and safe and sound society deprived of degradation and immorality. For this, belief and obeisance to the divine commandments is necessary and only Islam can provide this for Islam is the last religion which has come to perfect the moral codes of man and direct him to the worship of the unique God, his Creator.
The times we are witnessing are the times of darkness, of Kalyug. Calamities are falling everywhere to remind man that he has forgot his Lord and has gripped the rope of this temporal world instead of the rope of God. God gives us time to repent, but before sizzling the world or a people with calamities, He sends beforehand someone to warn them about their wrongs, so that they may abide to his advices and reform themselves, but unfortunately, most of them choose not to listen to his warnings and invitation to the worship of their Creator and thus, they become lost in their destructions. Therefore, one must never go beyond the limits set out by God. God does not need us but it is us who need Him. Very often people knock at the door of creatures instead of their Creator. It is only after knocking on all doors without success that he remembers God and come to Him.
Afterwards, the Khalifatullah talked about the importance of other people in one’s life. For example, he cites a grand-parent as being a library, the fact that he holds a life of information and experience to pass on the next generation. Moreover, there is the importance of obeisance to parents, of obeying them in righteousness. Neighbours also are a part of the life of one and all. Especially in Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has stressed on the fact that the needs of one’s neighbours must be cared for. If they are in any difficult, it is one’s duty to go and help them, and provide them with food if they go without food. He further said, the teachings of the original religions sent down by God through His prophets have always been good. It is not the religions which are not good, but rather it is the people therein who turn them upside down, having neither start not end to it. Nowadays, be it in Hinduism, Christianity or Islam, everywhere therein there are divisions; sects which take pride in calling themselves the true one who follows the original teachings of their prophets! All messengers brought the same messages but it is their followers who ultimately change the meanings of their message, fabricating their own to pass it as those of their respective prophets.
Thus, before God exterminate a people, He definitely sends someone from Him, His representative as a reformer, a messenger, an avatar to revive faith on earth. Like dry trees or plants needs rainfall to revive them, likewise humans need reformers to revive their faith in their Creator, their unique Lord. Our body is temporary whereas our soul is of the essence of God and must return back to Him one day. There are many who are not interested with spirituality. They are already attached with this temporal world and its attractions. Satan has embellished the attractions of this world so much in their eyes that they do not see anything beyond these temporal games and enjoyments. All these are for a limited time only. Every soul on earth shall taste death, where he shall have to leave the temporal body it has got and go back to its Creator. Thus, our soul is deeply connected with God, and thus, it wants to be stripped of all abased attractions of this world so that it can fully concentrate on its Lord, and go to Him in peace and tranquillity. Thus, on earth, we need from time to time someone to come to revive the teachings of God and direct these souls and illuminate their way back to their Lord, in worship and devotion to Him alone.
Next, the Khalifatullah proceeded to explain that nobody has the right to judge the faith of others. One must look at one’s own deeds, thoughts and way of life before criticising others and labelling them as not of the parties of God. Even the prophets have no right to judge the faith of others. No past prophets also had that permission from God except when divine revelations came to them to inform them of the sincerity or hypocrisy of some of the people around them. They came only to pass on the message of God for thereafter on the Day of Judgement, people shall have no argument to say in their favour or lie about their prophets for the latter came to warn them properly and pass on the message of God as they got the instructions.
If the people were among those who recognised the truth of God’s revelations, they shall have their books in their right hands, if not, they shall be casted in Hell (for their deeds upon receiving their books in their left hand).
God always sent Messengers to the world, and He shall continue to do so as long as there be humans on earth! Thus, one should live his life in the right direction, never deviating from the righteous guidance of God. The world is touched with all sorts of ills and it is only a return back to spirituality which can save it from destruction.
Thus, each one of you must strive to become a good Hindu, a good Christian, a good Buddhist, and a good Muslim etc. Let us follow the righteous examples of the prophets of God and not the modern day actors and actresses. Have these actors etc. got the proper baggage of spirituality to show mankind? No! Just immorality and decadence! One must plant a good tree so that his future generations may profit from it.
Spirituality must be cultivated in each house. Spirituality brings light of faith, making it shine on the face, where peace and serenity can be felt in them and in their households. Parents have the great tasks to teach their children proper manners and give them the riches of spirituality and love for the Creator, our Lord and Guide.
After his lengthy discourse, the humble Messenger of God thanked the assistance for their attention and the fact that they sacrificed their time to come and listen to really good words, the words of spirituality, of guidance for a better future, a better world, a better moral and code of conduct. He ended his speech by glorifying God, and stating that this day was indeed a blessed and an historical day, the peace and blessings of Almighty God falling upon the place of the conference.
At the end of the speech, there was a question and answer session with the guests who were keen to ask good question pertaining to religion and unity of God and also about the coming of reformers as mentioned in his speech. |
